


lock away a coat, lock away a soul

by chlodobird



Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, And they both get one, Azula (Avatar) Needs a Hug, But also, Canonical Child Abuse, Ember Island (Avatar), Gen, Happy Azula (Avatar), Ozai (Avatar) Being a Terrible Parent, Ozai (Avatar) is an Asshole, Post-Canon, Selkie Zuko, Selkies, Ursa isn't perfect but she's trying her best, Zuko (Avatar) Needs a Hug, bc again let me remind you ozai is terrible, bc y'know she's not being abused, oh yeah, seriously he's fucking AWFUL dude
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-22
Updated: 2020-10-22
Packaged: 2021-03-09 02:14:03
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,086
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27146447
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/chlodobird/pseuds/chlodobird
Summary: When Zuko's mom vanishes, she takes Azula with her. When Zuko spends three years at sea, he assumes the ache in his heart is just missing home. When Zuko sees two seals following his boat every so often, he assumes there's just a lot of seals in the ocean.When he joins the Gaang, they tell stories around the campfire, and things finally start to fall into place.AKA I thought to myself "what if atla had selkies?" and then instantly realized Ozai would ruin everything.
Relationships: Azula & Zuko (Avatar), Sokka & Zuko (Avatar), The Gaang & Zuko (Avatar), Ursa & Zuko (Avatar)
Comments: 13
Kudos: 216





	lock away a coat, lock away a soul

Zuko tried to ignore the sound of waves crashing on the Ember Island beach, and tried to forget the play they had seen earlier. 

Clearly the others were thinking the same, because Aang gasped and got his cheerful ‘I have an idea’ look. “Sokka, can you tell us more stories?”

“Sure!” He seemed eager to distract from their imminent death-by-fire. “Hm . . . how about the one about selkies?”

Zuko settled in to listen to Sokka’s storytelling again. Hakoda had started a habit of telling stories after dinner and now, even after their little group split off, Aang, Katara, Sokka and Suki kept it up.

In Zuko’s opinion, Sokka was the best at it, but he refused to acknowledge the thought.

“There was a woman who came out of the ocean with a sealskin around her neck,” he began. “A man was out fishing, and watched her set her coat on a rock. He went and picked it up, and once he had it, she couldn’t return to the sea.”

Zuko felt a cold dread settle in his stomach, although he couldn’t be sure why.

“It’s said that the man could make her do anything by promising to give her coat back if she just did one more chore, stayed one more day. She had three children with him, and one day, her son was playing in the man’s ship. The boy tripped and fell into the man’s sea-chest, and accidentally hit a button that opened the side. Several coats came spilling out, and he took it to his mother to ask her about. She left, and took her selkie son and two other selkie children with her.”

Zuko froze, and couldn’t pry his eyes away from Sokka as he finished the story. “Twenty years later, a man washed up on the shore of the village. He had no sealskin, but he could hold his breath far longer than the other villagers. He always felt drawn to the ocean, but with his sealskin lost, he couldn’t go home.”

The edges of the empty pit in Zuko’s core were crumbling away. He stood abruptly and walked off, trying to put distance between him and the selkie story.

It didn’t work.

Sokka caught up with him a minute later, and said, “Hey, what’s wrong?”

Zuko didn’t look at him. “Are selkies only from the Water Tribe?”

“Nah, they come from all over. Why?”

Zuko remembered a constant longing on his ship, the lure of the knowledge that he was surrounded by more water than he could ever comprehend, and the desire that surged whenever he glanced out over the ocean to fling himself in.

And then he remembered the pair of seals that occasionally followed his ship, and he clenched his fists and did his best not to burst into tears or set something on fire.

“Sokka,” he said as calmly as he could. “Are selkies real?”

The other boy looked at him for a moment, and finally said, “I’ve been traveling with the Avatar, got kidnapped by spirits, and dated the moon. I think it’s possible.”

“My mother vanished with my sister when I was eleven.”

Sokka waited for Zuko to continue. “When I was on the ship, I wanted to be in the water. And when I snuck into Agna Qel'a, I followed the turtle-seals through the tunnels.”

Some surprise showed on Sokka’s face at that, and Zuko shrugged. “I’ve always been able to hold my breath for ages.” He didn’t want to think about what that could mean.

“So what do you think?”

All the worry and fear finally boiled over. “I don’t  _ know _ , just- I can’t be a selkie, because  _ where’s my coat? _ ” Flames surrounded his fists.

Sokka jumped slightly, but edged closer. “Zuko. We will figure this out together.”

He closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and extinguished the fire. “Sorry.”

“You don’t have anything to apologize for!” Sokka hesitated, and added, “Will you tell the others? It’ll be easier figuring out a solution if we work together on it.”

Zuko grimaced. “Yeah.”

Sokka tilted his head at Zuko, and asked carefully, “Do you want me to do it for you?”

He could only nod.

“I can do that. You ready to head back?”

Zuko took a second to center himself, and nodded again. “Let’s go.”

He followed Sokka back to the group, and stood behind him as he said, “Guys, Zuko is a selkie.”

Aang instantly lit up. “Cool! Did you just find out?”

“Um. Yeah,” Zuko said hesitantly. “I didn’t know they existed before now. You believe me?”

Toph shrugged. “Why wouldn’t I? I can tell you’re not lying, and I doubt you both went crazy at the same time.”

Zuko glanced at Katara, who was scrutinizing him. “What?”

She bit her lip and softly asked, “But where’s your coat?”

The campfire flared up, and Sokka shook his head. “We’ve got to help him find it.”

Aang nodded, and Toph cracked her knuckles. “Let’s do it.”

“Where should we start?” Aang asked.

“My father probably has it,” Zuko said with a wince.

The whole group traded nervous looks except for Toph, who stomped her foot. “Good thing we’re already going to kick his ass then! We can search for it afterwards, or make him tell us.”

Zuko cracked a smile at her bluntness. “You’re right.” It hurt to say, but he added, “Let’s just focus on the comet for now. We’ll deal with this later.”

_ We _ .

When he was falling asleep, the rhythm of breathing around him gave way to dreams of dark, crashing waves, and seals in the distance.

Too far away, and swallowed up by the ocean.

Zuko dropped his father at the Fire Sages’ feet, with his friends by his side.

“Prince Zuko, as the only remaining member of the royal family, you will be coronated and become the Fire Lord,” the senior Sage said. He looked like he had a nasty taste in his mouth, and Zuko distinctly remembered a prank he and Azula had pulled on the old man.

“Thank you. When is the coronation?”

“Tomorrow.”

Zuko nodded, and turned to Toph. “Can you find somewhere metal and dump him in it?”

She grinned. “I’d love to. I’ll try to find you-know-what, too.”

“Thank you.”

A week after becoming Fire Lord, he found his coat in his father’s office.

There was a metal box in the bottom drawer of the desk, and he scooped it up without hesitation. This was it. He could  _ feel _ it. He tore out of there to Toph’s quarters.

She was on her feet in an instant. “What’s going on? What’s wrong?”

He only had to hold the box out to her for her to understand, and she carefully peeled the top away.

Zuko pulled out his coat, and finally felt whole.

“This is it, huh,” Toph said softly.

He wrapped it around his shoulders and sank to the floor. “Yeah,” he choked out. “This is it.”

“Need me to leave?”

It took him longer to process the words, but he nodded. “Please, um. Get Appa. Aang. I need the beach.”

Toph nodded and rushed out. He didn’t know how long it was before Aang bounced in. “Appa’s right outside, ready to go.”

Zuko dragged himself to his feet and followed the pair of twelve-year-olds out. Katara, Sokka, and Suki were already in the saddle.

No one said a word on the way to the beach.

No one said anything as Zuko pulled his skin tight around himself and disappeared into the waves.

He was finally home, in the water, below the waves. He was finally home, in his sealskin. Zuko raced the currents and the fish, and peace settled over him.

Three Ember Island trips later, he found Ursa and Azula waiting in the waves.

His mother stepped forward, arms outstretched, but he stepped back and stared. She was exactly as he remembered, but Azula had grown so much. Her hair was down, and she looked happier. Free.

She met his gaze. “Hello, Zu-Zu. You miss me?”

Zuko tilted his head. “Of course. You’re my sister, and I love you.”

Azula hesitated. “I missed you too, Dum-Dum.”

He turned to his mom, and got to the point. “Why did you leave me with him?” Zuko subconsciously held his coat a little tighter, and his mom flinched.

“When you were born, I was surprised you were a selkie and was too slow to stop Ozai from taking your coat like he took mine. When Azula was born, I was ready and I hid her coat from him,” she said plainly. “He hid my coat in the throne room, because I was never allowed there without being at his side, but Azula snuck in there the night Azulon ordered your father to kill you. She found my coat and brought it to me. I killed Azulon, and we escaped. I would have taken you, I  _ wanted _ to take you, but Ozai still had your coat.”

“Mother knew that you would ask her about a coat if you found one, but she knew Father wanted me to trust him, so she sat me down when I was five and told me that if I ever found a soft coat, I should bring it to her, and never tell him about it,” Azula added.

“Why didn’t you show Father? When you were nine, you still wanted his approval.”

“I felt it was important. The same way we get the pull towards the sea,” she said, a little distantly.

Zuko mustered up a smile for his sister. “I’m glad you got away from Father.”

She didn’t smile back. “I wish you could have come too.”

He accepted that with grace, and did Uncle’s calming breaths.

In, hold, out. In, hold, out.

“If you had waited to find my coat, you wouldn’t have been able to get away with Azula.”

It wasn’t a question, but his mother shook her head anyway.

He took another deep breath, but when he opened his eyes, he smiled tiredly. “Then you did the right thing.”

Surprise flashed in Azula’s eyes, and Zuko took a step her way. “It’s okay, ’Zula. I managed in the end.” He hesitantly opened his arms for a hug, and was surprised when she closed the distance and wrapped her arms around him.

“Dum-Dum. You should be furious,” she whispered.

“I  _ am _ . But you two wouldn’t have gotten away if you brought me,” he admitted. He pulled away, and asked, “Can we swim together?”

He didn’t wait for a response before plunging into the surf, and his family wasn’t far behind. Azula seemed more comfortable in her sealskin, and nipped lightly at his sides until he got the hint and started chasing her.

Unsurprisingly, she was much more graceful than he was, but as she led him on a chase, he began to get the hang of currents in a way he never had when he was alone.

They emerged on the beach hours later. He grinned at Azula. “I’ll be back, and next time I’m beating you in a race.”

She snorted. “As if. You’re so slow I could win in my sleep.”

Zuko rolled his eyes, but let his fondness show. She didn’t miss the look, because she elbowed him and said sharply, but without the cruel steak Father had been beginning to foster, “Take care of yourself.”

Before he could reply, she vanished into the waves, and he was left with his mom.

He waited, and finally, she began, “Zuko . . .” She trailed off, looking lost for words. “You grew up.”

“It’s been five years. Why didn’t you ever say anything when you followed my ship?”

She turned to stare at the sea. “Would it have helped? Would having Azula and I there have outweighed the knowledge that you couldn’t be in the ocean?”

Zuko’s hold on his coat tightened again. If being on a ship for three years without his sealskin had been torture, would knowing the truth of its absence have made it worse?

“I don’t know,” he finally said, truthfully.

“I didn’t know either. I still don’t. I only hope you can begin to forgive me for the choices I’ve made.”

Zuko tentatively hugged her, but when she put her arms around him, he sank into the familiar warmth. “I love you, Mom.”

“I’ll be back. Two weeks from now?” he said hesitantly as he finally let go.

She nodded, and pressed a kiss to his forehead before slipping back into the waves.

**Author's Note:**

> so uh. i got excited about selkies and then realized that Ozai would probably take ursa's coat and then zuko's, and THEN, i realized that Zuko spent three years surrounded by the ocean but not being able to be a seal in it and that shit HURTS so of course it wouldn't leave my head till i wrote a short oneshot about it.  
> (and then i realized that Ozai used to take his family of selkies without coats to a BEACH for vacation, and wanted to punch my own au in the face)  
> anyway this isn't as angsty as it could've been- my friend suggested that Ozai burn Zuko's coat so that no one can control him if he ever because Fire Lord. I decided that i didn't wanna do that, and figured hey, Ozai could always burn it later if it looks like Zuko's headed towards fire-lording, but he would probably want any control he could get his hands on.  
> It was really tricky getting the interactions between Azula, Ursa, and Zuko right, because their dynamics are obviously very different compared to the series. Hope you guys enjoyed! :) (guess selkie aus are all i write now *looks at pile of selkie au wips*)

**Works inspired by this one:**

  * [From the City to the Ocean](https://archiveofourown.org/works/27257281) by [trying_to_spell_both_our_names_at_once](https://archiveofourown.org/users/trying_to_spell_both_our_names_at_once/pseuds/trying_to_spell_both_our_names_at_once)




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